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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27536248">Life of a Solider</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiwiTyTy/pseuds/KiwiTyTy'>KiwiTyTy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Dedsec Stories: William Hay [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Watch Dogs (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Gen, Mentions of Death, Mentions of PTSD (Maybe?), Mentions of Violence, Spoilers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:15:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>710</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27536248</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiwiTyTy/pseuds/KiwiTyTy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>I haven’t been working with Dedsec long, but in the short time I’ve been here I’ve learnt quite a bit about their number one operative, William Hay.</i>
</p><p>AKA William Hay from Detective Kaitlin Lau's POV.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>No Romantic Relationship(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Dedsec Stories: William Hay [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2001727</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Life of a Solider</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>
  <b>This drabble contains SPOILERS for the Clan Kelley storyline.</b>
</p><p>This was actually the first idea I had that triggered me into writing but I wasn't overly confident about how it came out so it was hidden away until I decided "fuck it, just post it" so here you go. It's pretty angsty, but luckily its the last angsty idea I've had floating around. The rest are happy/funny, I just have to get the words down.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I haven’t been working with Dedsec long, but in the short time I’ve been here I’ve learnt quite a bit about their number one operative, William Hay.</p><p>In the beginning, I had watched in amusement as he skipped into the Dedsec safe house, picking up jobs while squabbling with Bagley, or cracked jokes with his friends before leaving in a whirl wind of good nature jabs and promises to “stick it to the man.” It had obvious too, that he occasionally forgot to take care of himself, to busy out on the streets. But, much to my amusement, it quickly became clear that Harriet wasn’t afraid to drag him by the ear to the briefing couch, forcing him to eat then sleep while shooing another operative off to take whatever job William had been off to do. William always put up a token protest before laughing as he complied, usually after Harriet threatened blocked the door. Those moments, when William was slumped on the couch, cup tipping dangerously to the side as he fought off sleep, were the only time the safe house was truly quiet.</p><p>I had also learnt quickly Sabine held William in a special place within her heart, that she thought of him a younger brother, and spoke of him in high regard as one of the original members of the new Dedsec. Even Bagley seemed to prefer working with him, if the subtle fondness that slipped into the AI’s voice meant anything.</p><p>But the William that haunted the safe house now wasn’t the young man who had fallen into that disgusting basement all that time ago. That William had been shocked, disgusted, scared at the sight of the bloodied bodies Clan Kelley had taken and torn apart for profit. He had been heartbroken for those people, and then, when he finally found his friend, devastated that he had been too late to save them. That William had worn his heart on his sleeve.</p><p>This William, the one that stalks through Dedsec’s halls now, had been hardened by all the things he had seen, all the things he forced himself to do. The bright spark that he once had, the one that convinced me to meet with Dedsec, had long been replaced with a fierce determination, a single minded focus to bring Albion and Clan Kelley down, to bring down anyone stupid enough to stand in the way of freedom for the people of London. </p><p>He no longer cringed away at the sight of bloodied death, and always demanded the harsher jobs Dedsec had to offer. The ones that he knew would end in pain, for others or for himself, or in death. No one approached him now, even Harriet stopped preventing him from leaving when the world began weighing to harshly on his shoulders.</p><p>I had begun to noticed William watching the newer, softer recruits, and it hadn't taken a genius to figure out that he didn’t want them to see what he saw, to become what he had, just to survive outside of these walls. It had been weeks since he personally recruited another person into Dedsec.</p><p>I had watched as he realized the realities of this war against Albion, watched when he finally accepted his role as a solider, as a leader, in this army London’s citizens had built. He had become strong and fierce, a force to be reckoned with, and I knew he would do anything to ensure London and her people won against Albion’s oppression.</p><p>What I did not know, and what worried me the most, was what would become of him after all this was over. His happy carefree self had been crushed and hidden away under the strain of his role in this fight, and he wouldn't let himself think about what he had become. If he let himself realize just how much of himself he had compromised, broken for his cause, he would break completely. I knew I was watching a man who knew he was a dead man walking, one who was trying to strive to live in a world that one day wouldn't need him. </p><p>A solider needed a war, needed something to fight for, and I knew there was no going back for William Hay.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The other original members of the new DedSec are Joeri, Gabriel, and Harriet; I think they're the operatives you got if you pre-ordered Watch Dogs. They'll be mentioned a lot in my drabbles because they seem to be the only people I'm capable of remembering. </p><p>As always, if you want to see what William looks like then check out the Watch Dogs Legion tag on my <a href="https://kiwityty-gifs.tumblr.com/tagged/Watch-Dogs-Legion">GIF blog</a> over on tumblr. He's the guy with the mohawk, I use him for everything unless the game forces me to play as someone else and then he is promptly swapped back in as soon as I can.</p><p>The next drabble might take a little while because Assassin's Creed Valhalla just dropped and I've been sucked into playing that for now.</p><p>Thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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